Warner Bros contributes £1bn a year to UK economy

Harry Potter's magic spell helps Warner Bros contribute more than £1bn a year
to the British economy, a new report has claimed, as the Hollywood film
giant prepared to welcome the Royal Family to its UK studios.

'Literally thousands of world-class craftsmen and women collaborated on creating one of the most successful and profitable British exports of our generation – Harry Potter'Photo: Paul Grover

Princes William and Harry, and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, will on Friday formally open the Leavesden site where the Harry Potter films were made, following a £100m expansion project that was completed last year.

A report by the London School of Economics found that Warner Bros’ spend on salaries, National Insurance contributions, marketing, advertising and infrastructure is worth £1.2bn a year to the UK economy. That figure is expected to increase following the Leavesden makeover.

Warner Bros has pledged to fund a string of apprenticeships and scholarships to help train the next generation of talent.

George Osborne, the Chancellor, welcomed the investment as a “sign of confidence in the UK” and its creative sectors. “Film, television and games production is exactly the kind of innovative, creative industry at which the UK excels. This Government is determined to support creative talent, and make sure the UK is the number one destination for the creative industries,” he said.

The Government introduced new tax breaks in March, to help ensure that glossy dramas such as Downton Abbey and animations such as Wallace & Gromit are produced in Britain rather than being filmed overseas.

The 25pc tax breaks for high-end TV and animation follow similar tax breaks for films, which have been in place for some time.

The Government has also pledged tax breaks for video games makers. However, the EU Commission has since launched an investigation into whether the video games tax break constitutes state aid.

Richard Wilson, chief executive of the video games industry trade organisation, TIGA, has warned that the hold-up “could jeopardise much-needed investment and job creation” in the UK’s games industry.

Mr Berger said on Friday that Warner Bros would be “highly likely” to increase its investment in making video games in Britain when the tax break is in place.